This especially applies to remasters of highly rated titles, such as “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.” On one hand, you’re still looking at the very same game that rated highly when it first came out. On the other hand, you also have to factor in the bells and whistles included in the new version, which is a key reason why remasters are done in the first place. Otherwise, you can just point people toward the original game’s review.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.(Photo: Bethesda)

The Legend of Zelda remasters such as Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask for the 3DS and Wind Waker HD for the Wii U, for example, are great specimens for remasters done right, thanks to thoroughly reworked graphics and gameplay improvements. Then you have remasters like the Dead Rising Triple Pack and Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection, which touch up the visuals and resolution but leave things pretty much unchanged. For the most part, Skyrim Special Edition leans toward the latter.

Then again, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It does, however, determine which audiences will get more mileage from the special edition — at least depending on their experience, or lack thereof, with the original release.

The good news is that Skyrim remains a great game even now. Featuring a large world that serves as an expansive canvas for many grand adventures, Skyrim continues to be one of the best representations of the Western RPG genre to date. You still have a nice selection of characters that you can mold, shape and progress the way you want. Side quests also abound, allowing you to go forth and lose yourself to whatever activity suits your fancy. Throw in improved lighting and visual effects, the addition of all expansion packs plus the ability to use mods and you have the definitive edition of the game, especially for console players.

Being a faithful recreation also sheds light on the special edition’s issues as well. For starters, some of the original’s glitches and bugs make a return. Combat, meanwhile, which already felt a bit archaic to me even when the game was new, feels even more dated now. Then you’ve got the character models, which can still look mighty homely, except that homeliness is now, uh, remastered.

The game is also completely faithful in the sense that it does not really add anything new that veteran players have not seen before. If you’ve played the heck out of the original and savored all the expansion content, this is pretty much the same game. You don’t get any major additions to the story or gameplay.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition.

(Photo: Bethesda)

This means your enjoyment will largely depend on your previous experience with the game. If you played the original to death and found yourself done with it, then the special edition likely won’t offer anything compelling for you to come back, especially if you play on PC where you have your pick of various mods to choose from. If you’re a console gamer who loved the original and continue to do so and want to re-experience everything again with improved visuals and mod support built in right off the bat, then this might be worth another trip. Gamers who will get the most out of the special edition, however, are those who never had a chance to play the game before. If that applies to you and you’re a fan of Western RPGs, then I recommend checking this out as the 4.5 score I gave the original would still apply in that case.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a faithful rendition of the original, perhaps too faithful, with visual improvements and mod support right off the bat for consoles. The lack of major new content and gameplay changes means folks who have burnt out while extensively playing the original likely won’t have reason to revisit this region of Tamriel. If you’ve never played the game before, however, it presents a great opportunity to experience one of the best RPGs to date.